Thursday, July 17, 2014

We made the decision to venture out to the Mopar Block Party tonight.
It's something we did for years before Noah was born, and several times
after. The event that pretty much kicks off the three days of the Mile
High Nationals of NHRA drag racing. I don't think Chris and I ever
completely abandoned our love of racing and it's always been a fun
night, to walk around look at cars, obtain autographs and talk to
drivers.

NHRA drivers signing autographs

I remember taking Noah the very
first year. He was 6 months old, and it was a completely nightmare for
him and for us. Noah was never a good car traveler. He got so upset on
the way home. We figured like most parents he'd just cry it out. We
had no idea that he was causing himself to vomit over and over again,
while hysterically crying, grunting, snorting, all the while serving for
the perfect storm for aspirating on his vomit. The entire backseat was
covered, and he was so young he was rear facing in the car, so we
didn't really know the gravity of the situation until we had reached
home. We felt terrible. It was the last time we ever contemplated the
cry it out method for anything. We quickly realized cry it out equaled
life-threatening. If Noah so much as even whimpered we pulled over
until he stopped. To say the least we didn't get very far from home -
if at all because of that.

You'd think we'd be crazy to do it
again after that first experience with Noah, but we've learned the art
of assisting Noah. While one person drives, the other is on Noah
duty. Coming to his rescue if his movie ends and he needs another for
self-soothing, if he gets upset, if he needs anything at all. I
rarely, if ever travel long distances alone with Noah just for that
reason.

Over the years the Mopar Party has changed a bit, now
there are not that many cars and food vendors have been replaced with
beer stands forcing hungry people into nearby restaurants. The music is
just as loud, but this year I didn't find it wheelchair friendly.
People were just oblivious to a wheelchair trying to navigate the crowd,
sidewalk access remained blocked not only by vendors but also by people
who just gathered there refusing to move Lifting a wheelchair over
curbs isn't all that fun. And Noah was agitated that people would not
part for him like the Red Sea blocking his ability to move anywhere.

We
wound up walking to the creek and abandoning the block party
altogether. The creek was peaceful, but the water was running high so
you could hear the rush and force of it hitting the rocks. I used to
walk that creek a lot, especially when I used to work in that area so
many years ago. A different lifetime. It feels like looking in the
rear view mirror. Everything feels so different. Stores, businesses,
and restaurants have come and gone. As much as you wish things stayed
the same they just don't. Life goes on without you.

Walking Clear Creek

This may
have been our last year going - I don't really know. Chris loves it,
and I know before our boys were born we always dreamed they'd share our
love of cars and racing. But the reality is Noah will never be able to
race, we can't even comfortably take him to the Mile High Nationals in
excessive heat with no suitable shelter from the sun, and it's doubtful
we'll ever be lucky enough to obtain tower seats behind the Christmas
tree (race language for the lights that count down before you punch the
gas). And we're a family that really believes in staying together.
Our belief has always been, no one gets left behind. As much as you
once loved something in your life, occasionally you have to say goodbye
to it and that's okay.

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Noah Mitchell Warden was born December 23, 2008, weighing 9lbs and 1oz by emergency c-section at 8:51am. Noah did not breathe or have a heartbeat for the first 13 minutes of his life. He was taken to Children's Hospital in order to have a procedure done known as brain cooling in attempts to minimize damage caused by perinatal asphyxia. Noah's brain cooled for 72 hours after which time the hospital ran an MRI and an EEG to determine the extent of the damage. Unfortunately, the results came back with devastating news. Noah had suffered "global damage" to his brain. As a result the prognosis was grim. They said Noah would mostly likely never walk, talk, eat or even breathe on his own. Today, Noah has the diagnosis of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy resulting in spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy with athetoid movements. Noah's miracle has brought our story to all of you.